The sportswear industry has had to choose between performance and renewability. Textiles, for example, are typically coated with toxic perfluorinated compounds to make them water-repellant.
Senior Researcher, Kerrie Masone, explains how Humble Bee is taking a cue from masked bees. It’s biomimicry: problem solving through imitation of the natural environment.
Masked bees produce a nesting material that is water-repellant, and resistant to flames and high temperatures. Humble Bee hopes to reverse-engineer the material for use on an industrial scale.
Here are some other materials inspired by nature…
A biomimetic, thin polymer film that mimics the surface of moth eyes. This film can make laminated transparent materials more transparent by suppressing the reflection on their surface.
ATACAMA FLOW by ATACAMA // MC 8589-03
The world’s first ‘biomimetic,’ high performance, moisture channeling platform for apparel that manipulates sweat into ‘channels’ in the fabric using advanced microfluidics, resulting in completely dry, lightweight clothing, even during intense workout sessions.
